Families This Week May 16, 2020 We heard you! We know you are getting a lot of information from a lot of different places so we want to scale back on what we send and make sure what we provide is helpful ! Beginning this week we will be sending an abbreviated family newsletter with some resources we think will be useful to you and your family. We will send a more robust Heart & Home newsletter once a month.

Greetings from Jill This week we celebrate nurses. The amazing men and women who tirelessly take special care of their patients every day. Especially now, during the virus outbreak, they are working harder and longer hours, and some are seperated from their families. A woman who attends church at Crossroads, Karin, is a nurse in Loudoun county. She recently celebrated her birthday and wasn't able to have a traditional celebration with her family. Many of us have had similar experiences where we changed celebration plans to safely distance from friends and family. It's not the material gifts of birthdays and anniversaries that make a person feel special and loved, it's the kind words and gestures from their loved ones. We can show our gratitude for nurses by writing a letter to Karin. The information is below. A famous nurse, Florence Nightingale, once wrote "Live your life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift -- there is nothing small about it." I hope we are reminded that every day is a gift, with new opportunities to share God's love. The Bible has many stories of healing and miracles. To help illustrate this bible lesson to children, we encourage you to click on the puppet show link below. In addition, Nancy McGovern shares a meditation and breathing exercise for children. We have also put all of our family resources together on the Heart & Home page on our website for easy reference.

Honor Your Graduates! Graduation Sunday, June 7th, 2020 Do you have a student graduating from either high school or college? Click  here  to submit their name and school so that they can be celebrated by the Crossroads community!

This Week's Highlighted Resources

Crossroads Kids Bible Story Puppet Show   Watch Here! Watch this week's puppet show as Pastor Dave as Joey, Ms. Cathy as June Bug and Ms. Jill lead us in a Bible Story about healing and miracles. We also honor nurses.

Lion's Breath with Nancy McGovern Nancy provides great resources for parents of young children, and offers tips to help cope with anxiety and the struggles of staying home. This week she shares a Lion's Breath that focuses on deep breathing to release energy and bring calm reminding us of God's love. Catch Ms. Nancy every Monday at 10am on her Corner of the Sky Facebook Live show as she brings you Movement, Music and Mindfulness.

Check out the following links (click on heading to go to a website link) for family activities and resources. Summer Fun with Family Activities Article The British Royal Family Thanks Nurses in Video Message Beginner's Guide to Growing Vegetables article

Growing Leaders at Home  Here is a great activity designed for parents to do with your kids during these challenging days. Click here for a discussion and lesson on Filter or No Filter (Authenticity). It is designed by Tim Elmore from Growing Leaders for this extended time of being alone. We will feature a Growing Leaders at Home activity every week.

This Week's Hope in Action Activity

Hope in Action Featured Friend Karin Ippolito is a nurse at INOVA. Karin attends Crossroads with her brother Chris. A couple of weeks ago Chris wrote us a note wanting to share Karin’s story. This is what he wrote: My sister, Karin, attends Crossroads and is a nurse here in Loudoun county. Her unit cares for very sick individuals, more than a few of which now include those with COVID-19. Beyond being exposed to the virus, she must self quarantine...so it’s been nearly two months since we’ve been able to have real contact with her (we celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago in the street in front of her house). Under ‘normal’ conditions her work is stressful; now as you can imagine, it’s exponentially more so. This past week was tough with an increase in COVID cases, but she is staying strong and positive as she cares for the sick and is present for those who are alone.  Let us show our appreciation for her dedication and hard work; we know Karin would love a note from you! Please send letters to: Crossroads UMC Attn: Karin Ippolito, 43454 Crossroads Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147